This application claims the benefit of German patent application DE 19854375.1, filed Nov. 25, 1998, herein incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a method for performing a batch change in an automatic cheese winder having multiple identical winding stations arranged in sections and a transportation system for supplying yarn-wound spinning cops to, and removing empty unwound tubes from, the winding stations, wherein the transportation system has a plurality of transport trays for supporting the spinning cops and the empty tubes and a plurality of transport paths for travel therealong of the transport trays.
Modern automatic cheese winders as a rule have many identical winding stations disposed in sections, as well as a transport system for supplying and removing these winding stations with spinning cops and empty tubes, respectively. Revolving within such a transport system, which system typically has a plurality of different transport paths including the transverse transport paths leading to the winding stations, are transport trays with vertically disposed receiving mandrels, and either spinning cops or empty tubes which are fed on these trays. Processing stations for the spinning cops and empty tubes, as applicable, are typically also disposed in the region of these transport systems. Examples include cop preparation stations, tube monitors, and tube cleaners.
The transport system of an automatic cheese winder can either be connected via a so-called converter directly to the transport system of a preceding textile machine that produces spinning cops, which is then called a compound textile machine, or can be provided with spinning cops from a separately disposed ring spinning machine, or can be removed of empty tubes, via a special interface.
Such an interface for instance comprises a cop mounting device, which is disposed in the region of a so-called takeover path and precedes a flat circular conveyor, and a tube doffer. All of these are known in principle, for example: cop mounters from German Patent Disclosure DE 33 48: 033 C2, flat circular conveyors from German Patent Disclosure DE 41 12 434 A1, and a tube doffer from German Patent Disclosure DE 44 46 161 A1.
In such a separate transport system for a bobbin winding machine, the spinning cops, shipped in relatively large shipping containers, are first separated and set upright in flat circular conveyors. Next, the spinning cops are positioned by the cop mounter on the transport trays revolving in the transport system.
Discharged empty tubes are taken out of the transport system by the tube doffer and stored temporarily in a shipping container.
In the aforementioned transport systems, the number of transport trays circulating in the transport system usually markedly exceeds the number of winding stations in the automatic cheese winder. Preferably, the number of circulating transport trays is approximately five times the number of winding stations. These transport trays have to be empty first when a batch is changed, yet they still remain in the transport system. In such transport systems, as known for instance also from German Patent Disclosure DE 42 33 819 A1, problems can arise in terms of the transport tray logistics, and as a result, a batch change takes a relatively long time, which means a loss of production.
Based on the automatic cheese winders of the generic type described above and their transport systems, an object of the present invention is to develop a method that improves the performance of such a batch change in an automatic cheese winder.
According to the present invention, this object is attained by a method for performing a batch change in an automatic cheese winder. This automatic cheese winder has multiple identical winding stations arranged in sections and a transportation system for supplying yarn-wound spinning cops to, and removing empty unwound tubes from, the winding stations. The transportation system has a plurality of transport trays for supporting the spinning cops and the empty tubes and a plurality of transport paths for travel therealong of the transport trays. Among the transport paths is a storage path extending along the winding stations for storing transiently a plurality of transport trays with spinning cops supported thereon and a plurality of winding station transport paths including transverse transport paths each extending from the storage path through a respective winding station. The method of the present invention comprises clearing a first batch of spinning cops from the winding stations section by section. In each section, this method involves discharging from the respective section transport trays having spinning cops thereon and removing the spinning cops from the transport trays to create empty transport trays, and temporarily retaining the empty transport trays in the winding station transport paths while clearing the first batch of spinning cops from other winding station sections. The method also comprises filling the automatic cheese winder with a second batch of spinning cops by successively discharging one empty transport tray from each winding station transport path of each winding station section and delivering in place thereof a transport tray supporting a spinning cop of the second batch, thereby for uniformly filling the winding stations of the winding station sections.
Advantageous features of this method are set forth in more detail herein.
As compared to the methods known thus far, the method of the present invention has the advantage that clearing out an old batch of yarn, temporarily storing the empty transport trays, and filling up the new batch of yarn proceeds in an entirely controlled fashion from the very beginning.
The transverse transport paths leading to the winding stations are used as temporary storage reservoirs for empty transport trays. These paths can be loaded in a defined way without requiring any additional blocking or control means whatsoever in the inlet region to these transverse transport paths.
In other words, when the spinning cops of an old batch of yarn are being cleared away, the empty transport trays, relieved of their spinning cops, are immediately taken out of the transport loop of the automatic cheese winder and distributed sectionally to the transverse transport paths over the storage path. Three of the total of five transport trays present per winding station are discharged in succession into the transverse transport paths. At the end of the clearing process, the two remaining; transport trays are temporarily stored on the tube return path or the distributor path and are immediately ready there for filling with spinning cops that hold a new batch of yarn.
When the automatic cheese winder is being filled with spinning cops of a new batch of yarn, it is also assured, by purposeful discharging of the empty transport trays temporarily stored in the transverse transport paths, that all the winding stations of the automatic cheese winder will be supplied relatively uniformly with spinning cops holding the new batch of yarn, and thus all the winding stations can begin production simultaneously.
Since the temporary storage of empty transport trays in transverse transport paths of a cleared winding station section is already begun while the transverse transport paths of adjacent winding station sections are still being cleared, and since it is also assured that all the winding stations of the automatic cheese winder can enter production without delay, the batch change method according to the present invention is distinguished by its great speed. The method of the present invention leads overall to an improvement in the efficiency of an automatic cheese winder.
It has been proven to be especially advantageous in the method of the present invention wherein clearing away of an old batch of yarn and temporarily storing empty transport trays in the transverse transport paths begins at the winding station sections that are most downstream relative to the transport direction of a cop delivery path. In this way, it is easily possible to separate spinning cop-laden transport trays, which still have to be unloaded, and empty transport trays, that are to be temporarily stored, in a simple and reliable manner.
The method step wherein one transport tray carrying spinning cops per transverse transport path is discharged onto a tube return path, when clearing away of the old batch of yarn begins, assures on the one hand, particularly in conjunction with the method step of temporarily shutting off the connecting path before beginning to empty the last winding station sections in terms of transport direction of the cop delivery path and the method step of activating a stop device installed on a tube return path and impounding the transport trays carrying spinning cops after the transverse transport paths of some of the winding station sections have been empty, that the spinning cop-laden transport trays will be discharged out of the transverse transport paths of a winding station section rapidly. On the other hand, in this way, the occurrence of a backup of the discharged transport trays along the tube return path and attendant blockages of these transport trays in the mouth region of the transverse transport paths is precluded, because such blockages can often be cleared away only by hand.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the branch paths disposed first in terms of the transport direction of the cop delivery path are discharged toward the storage path, while the last of the branch paths dispenses the transport trays to the cop delivery path. Since the transport trays discharged to the cop delivery path are retrieved first, in this way the stream of spinning cop-carrying transport trays to be unloaded in a doffing path can be evened out somewhat.
The method step of triggering drives of the storage path in such a way that the transport trays carrying spinning cops located on the storage path are transported along the storage path counter to the transport direction of the cop delivery path after emptying of preparation paths disposed in a region of cop preparation stations via the branch paths and the method step of unloading onto a doffing path the transport trays carrying spinning cops that are discharged successively out of the transverse transport paths of the winding station sections assure that the storage path leading to the transverse transport paths is freed up immediately, especially in the region of the rear branching path, so that discharging empty transport trays into the transverse transport paths of the winding station sections cleared first can be begun without delay.
A cop removing device disposed preferably in the region of a doffing path assures that the spinning cops of the old batch of yarn are taken continuously, and the yarn layers are taken gently, from the transport trays.
The method step wherein a portion of the storage path initially has a transport direction counter to a usual storage path when temporarily storing the transport trays in the transverse transport paths of the winding station section that was cleared first begins, the method step wherein the spinning cops are conducted via leading branch paths onto the storage path and are fed by way of the storage path into the transverse transport paths of the winding station sections when the automatic cheese winder is being filled with a new yarn batch, and the method step wherein transporting the spinning cops on the storage path initially counter to the transport direction of the cop delivery path and after that are transported in the transport direction of the cop delivery path when a new yarn batch is being filled, again have a very positive effect on a rapid course of the batch change process. Thus, they have a very positive effect on the efficiency of the automatic cheese winder because these method steps either speed up the temporary storage of empty transport trays or assure the uniform filling of all the winding stations of the automatic cheese winder with spinning cops of the new batch of yarn.
Further details of the invention can be learned from a preferred embodiment described and exemplified below in conjunction with the drawings.